Friday, August 17, 2012

No escape from austerity â even for the aristocrats of Downton Abbey - Telegraph.co.uk

In a teaser clip, shown for the first time in Beverly Hills on Saturday, Hugh Bonnevilleâs character, the sixth Earl of Grantham Robert Crawley, is seen sobbing as he admits that the family wealth has vanished in a scene with actress Elizabeth McGovern, who plays his wife, Cora. âAre you really telling me that all the money has gone?â the countess asks her husband. After a pause, he tells her: âIâm afraid so.â

Affairs of the heart will also feature, the clips suggest. At the end of last yearâs Christmas special, when Matthew Crawley stooped down on bended knee in the snow, his tempestuous love affair with Lady Mary seemed finally to have reached a conclusion.

After a shock recovery from paralysis and Mary Crawleyâs long-overdue confession about the embarrassing death of Kemal Pamuk, the diplomat, it seemed that the pair might settle into married life without any further ordeals.

But the will-they-or-wonât-they nature of the romance will continue in season three with a mystery disagreement that leaves actress Michelle Dockeryâs character questioning whether they should call off the wedding.

She tells the Downton heir: âHow can you be so disappointing? Donât you see what this means? It means that deep down you are not on our side.â

Without disclosing the nature of the argument, she added: âShouldnât we be brave and back away now?â

Speaking about her characterâs development, Dockery told The Daily Telegraph: âSheâs matured. Sheâs very much grown into a woman in the third series in comparison to the slightly spoiled behaviour in the first series.â

The battle of the matriarchs will also be revived with the feisty arrival of Shirley MacLaine, the veteran American actress, who will appear as Coraâs âdramaticâ mother. The 78 year-old, who admitted to never having watched Downton Abbey before the role, said working on the set had been an extraordinary experience.

âWe were shooting outside in the rain and in the wind with our formal gear on and nobody seemed to notice,â she said. âSo I stepped right in there and acted like I didnât either. I had a fabulous time.â

Season three of Downton Abbey, which recently won a record 16 Emmy nominations, will start in September.